Tiny Dancer
by karapuui
Summary: It's no surprise to the Jellicles whenever Old Deuteronomy comes by with a new cat. It's the way their family grows - and after having recently lost one of their most beloved members, they find this addition - strange though he may be - quite welcome. The biggest shock is when Tugger is appointed his caretaker. Everlasting Cat, what was Deuteronomy thinking? (Tugger/Misto)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Hi there. I'm taking a bit of a leap into the unknown with this - but what the heck, why not, right? There's not enough Cats fanfiction on the net, and I want to contribute.**

**To any readers of ABFOB, the sequel is still being planned - gotta make it live up to expectations i.e. almost watertight in detail. This ****_is _****a brief hiatus, but only so I can refresh my VK-juices.**

**- I write long multichapter fics  
- I plan alongside writing with only a "guideline" to the plot, so everything is open to improv and input from you guys. Send in feedback whenever inspiration hits you, and I will do my best to work it in!  
- I'm gonna put brief notes to explain my own take on the Catsverse as I write, because it's well-known for being open to interpretation, so there are conflicting opinions on how it works. I think, to make sure things don't get too confusing, some explanation is needed.**

**Alright then guys, please enjoy the read!**

* * *

Old Deuteronomy was rather surprised to find himself not alone on a stormy summer's night. There was the tang of raw electricity in the air every so often signalling the likelihood of lightning, but something about this particular storm had his heart pounding.

He was on his way back home after having gone to check on his human earlier on in the day - a decision he regretted in hindsight, as he wasn't sure if he'd get back in time to warn Jenny and the other queens to settle the kittens before the storm was due to pass. _Lord _knew the kits would make a great deal of fuss about the noise and flashing lights otherwise. He worried about his own sons too - they were both toms now but he knew they weren't so far past their kittenhoods to have forgotten how frightening storms could be. However - this was the price of being…well, _him. _Old Deuteronomy had many responsibilities - he had a duty to watch over his brood, his Jellicles and his human - and with his human getting on in years he had to keep extra vigilant for the day when he would pass on to his human Heaviside layer (or wherever the two-footed fools went for eternal rest). Prioritising any one of them over the other was nigh impossible, because they were _all _family.

But back to the present - Deuteronomy wasn't alone in this downpour as he had first thought - he was passing through another yellow-lit alley and had paused momentarily to catch his breath. The downside to being so large was that he had to carry his weight around him, and so moving in any haste was always a tremendous effort. Age had packed on considerable weight - but luckily for him, it also meant his outer coat had become oddly waterproof over the years. It was thick and fibrous and more akin to wool than cat fur. Like a deranged pollicle, he shook his body vigorously to rid himself of some of the water and stomped his paws to get some feeling back into them.

But just as he was about to head onwards he heard a very small, pitiful mew.

Deuteronomy's heartbeat quickened as his paternal instinct flew into action and he spun around, his eyes scouring the alley for - a very young kit by his ears. His heart ached to think… well, he didn't have to venture too far into guessing what the situation likely was. The poor thing must have been abandoned, or else its mother would have been with it. To abandon a kit… Deuteronomy could never understand any parent making that decision - he knew they always had a reason, often they had no choice… but to him it was still unthinkable. Then again - he adopted kits, toms and queens of all ages from all sorts of places, and the only cats he'd ever lost had never been out of his own choice.

But those memories were too painful to dwell on right now.

For now, he sought the kit desperately - the storm was drawing ever closer and the rain was finally sinking through his outer-coat to his inner fur -

The kit mewed again, but search as he may - he just couldn't find them!

"Child, make yourself known!" he called out, but then cursed himself - an abandoned kit might not yet know how to speak. Without a mother to talk to, how would it have learnt… anything? How was it even still _alive?_ Deuteronomy cursed his old eyes and sodden ears which were making it that much harder to find the kit. But then - as he spun around once again - he noticed something which he had thought to be part of his shadow did not move with him.

He crouched down and could barely distinguish a tiny face in the darkness, upturned in the rain shower and blinking droplets out of its eyes - the kit appeared to be… _enjoying _the rainfall.

How bizarre.

Yet, the closer Deuteronomy inspected the kit, despite being completely drenched and shaking violently in the rain _he was smiling_. His mind was so focused on the rain that in spite of all of Deuteronomy's fussing, he hadn't noticed him at all.

Old Deuteronomy cleared his throat.

"Well, hello there," he said gently. He was so very tiny that Deuteronomy was fighting every parental instinct he had to gather the kit in his arms and _protect _him, knowing his size was intimidating to even adult cats. This assessment was sound, since the little kit turned to him… and his eyes just kept growing wider and wider till Deuteronomy feared they would fall right out of his head! He smiled warmly and hunkered down (in a puddle, he digressed - but anything to pacify the poor, helpless kit) to make himself appear a little less massive.

"What are you doing out here in the cold, little one?" he asked, knowing there would be no answer but wanting, in any way he could, to reach out to the kit and make sure he was alright. He couldn't help but flinch when there was a flash of white light not so far away.

The storm had begun.

The kit's ears flew back and he squeaked in surprise, tumbling in Deuteronomy's direction without meaning to and falling into his thick outer-fur. It wasn't the softest of fur, nor was it as nice-smelling as Jennyanydots or the other queens', but compared to the storm it was a blessed form of comfort, and with that thought - the kit clung to Deuteronomy's fur. He could feel needle-thin claws, but it was hardly painful after what he'd gone through with his sons. He nuzzled the tiny thing and chuckled warmly.

"It's alright, little one. It's only a storm on our tails," a rumble in the distance raised his hackles, "Everlasting Cat - we'd best get out of this rain nonetheless!" and with this, he plucked the kitten out of his fur by the scruff of his neck and started to walk home. To his surprise however, the kitten swung like a pendulum and batted him right on his sensitive nose - causing him to be dropped in his shock.

The kitten landed with a splash in a puddle (well, pretty much everywhere was a puddle now) and instead of shrieking like any cat ought to, he got right to his paws and gave Deuteronomy the most disgruntled look he'd ever received. With that, the kit flicked his tail in the air began to walk off alone. Deuteronomy watched this little display with great amusement. Let it be known that Old Deuteronomy has an _awesome_ sense of humour, no matter how serious times are. He decided to wait a few minutes to see what he would do before taking him home - they weren't far from home anyway, in fact -

"Child, if you take even one step further, you will be in Jellicle territory," he warned him, but wasn't that surprised to see that his advice went unheeded. The kit was surely defiant as it held its head up high and proceeded forwards, and -

"Ah, ah," Deuteronomy tutted, grinning at the astonishment on the kit's face.

It turned to him with massive eyes and a despondent mew.

"I did warn you," he sniggered, though not unkindly. He took his steps a little more slowly as he approached the boundary, knowing that it was always best to take your time when doing so. Deuteronomy glanced behind him, eyeing the dark cloud hanging low in the sky. He still hadn't heard thunder, but he knew it wouldn't be long till the big show began.

As he stepped over an invisible line, he felt the changes immediately - all his nine (or ninety) lives were lifted off his shoulders - his spine straightened out and his mind instantly sharpened and overtook his senses. Deuteronomy always felt a little nostalgic when returning home - for _this _was where his soul felt as young as he wished it and his spirit was the most free. He grinned down at the small tom in amusement, impressed by how calmly he was taking everything. Most cats or kits adopted by the Jellicles found the transformation quite alarming, even frightening at times - but this kit was so young, he wouldn't know any better - Deuteronomy realised. For this reason, he merely eyed Deuteronomy cautiously as he walked over to him on his hind-paws, more alarmed that these changes made him even bigger than he already was on all fours than the fact that this was not normal cat behaviour.

Nevertheless, the kit was quickly won over by Deuteronomy's kind physiognomy once the thunder began.

An almighty crash had him diving under Deuteronomy's legs, though he was caught and lifted up into his arms before he got there. He felt thunder in Deuteronomy's chest as he laughed heartily, wrapping him up in the loving embrace he was famous for, and making him feel so safe that he could even peek over his shoulder into the frightening beauty of nature in chaos without being afraid. He curled up against Deuteronomy's warmth and closed his eyes, completely exhausted by all the excitement and fell asleep before he knew it, lulled by the rocking motions of himself being carried away.

* * *

Immediately, he knew this kitten was going to be different when he clung to him with strength his petite body should not possess and his whole body _sparkled _when he tried to detach him.

Deuteronomy desperately wanted to get out of the rain but he didn't want to draw his Jellicles' attention because then he would be announced and _all _of them would want to come and greet him - and that would take a long time, by the end of which they would all be thoroughly soaked. This was why he hesitated on the outskirts of the junkyard - one step further and Coricopat and Tantomile would sense him and then the metaphorical cat would be out of the bag.

His son's den was unfortunately the most central to the junkyard, making it the hardest to get to unnoticed. That was the first place he'd planned on going to - however, he suddenly remembered that young Munkustrap had recently begun a courtship, so… perhaps arriving unannounced would be _unwise_. He had wanted to take the kitten to Jenny and the queens' den, but that was even further away and also - he didn't want to burden the queens who were busy with a den already overrun with kittens, and this kitten was so timid and small that… no, he couldn't leave him there.

There was only one option left, one which - had anyone been watching him - many would have questioned his sanity in even _considering_, but one which he thought - _shone _with potential.

His youngest had also claimed his own den now, and it was conveniently on the outskirts of the junkyard - Deuteronomy assumed his desire to be out of the way was an act of recluse - others saw him trying a new hand at attention-seeking and shirking his duties, but Deuteronomy was really worried about him. This period of un-Tugger-ish behaviour had been going on for _months_, and he was at the point where he would do _anything _to deal with the aftermath of Tugger's troublemaking over this bleak silence.

This was why he thought this plan might work.

Kittens are noise and chaos, and liveliness and _joy._

Tugger desperately needed a slap to get him out of whatever rut he was in. The amount of sulking he was doing was totally unreasonable, and he and Munkustrap had tried every trick in the book to cheer him up - but none of them had worked. They were the only ones Tugger let near him, which made things much more difficult because frankly - neither he nor Munkustrap were experts in cheering a cat up. They were reasonably cheerful fellows, but not the type of cat that could magic a dull day bright.

Deuteronomy suspected that there was a dark secret in Tugger's heart that was the root of his depression, and he worried that if they let it grow inside him for much longer it may consume him. Tugger was just so very _different _to everyone else - he could fill the whole junkyard with the grandest of performances, but was just as capable of leaving it silent as a grave. They hadn't ever seen him like this before - not even in all his kittenhood strops - so no one had any idea how to deal with it, and most were making the assumption that he would recover in his own time. He was truly the life of the tribe - without him, it was like they had no rhythm to their dance-steps, no heart to their songs - no heart -

Oh - _heart_… all the broken hearts he was leaving to rot - the queens that followed him into a collective silence - and he didn't even _know _about the founding of his own fan-club!

Tugger had always been admired as a kit - his magnetic personality was hard to ignore - but none of them could have ever predicted how much of a _sensation _he would become. Tugger became a tom mere months ago (in fact, around the same time this stint began), and yet puberty had taken him seemingly overnight - and what a change it made! Not only did he physically _double_ in size, but his previous charm increased tenfold, becoming particularly irresistible to the queens_, _who promptly formed a devoted fan-club to him. Deuteronomy had always thought Tugger would grow up to be a very handsome cat, but as they say - you never know what's coming round the corner - and his son's _exceedingly _good looks drew attention from all over London.

But instead of enjoying his fame - as they all thought he _would - _Tugger retreated, rumours - a hundred to one - sprouting up everywhere in his wake. They couldn't understand it - why a cat with such a loud personality as his would disappear on the cusp of his fame. But he even ignored all the rumours, choosing to hide from everything and everyone. He was still Tugger, in the sense that if he did not want to be bothered, he wouldn't be.

And they hadn't seen much of him since.

The kitten let out a whine - alerting Deuteronomy to the fact that he was spending far too long thinking as usual - in the rain, no less. He nodded in agreement, "Quite right, little one. This is not a thinking place," and with that, he entered the den.

* * *

In the end he found Tugger was already asleep, which made life a lot easier for everyone.

His den was a mess, but Deuteronomy could not complain - it was dry and warm, and so very Tuggerish that he was relieved to see that his son's _colourful_personality was still surviving in isolation. He knew it would be best to introduce Tugger to his guest, but… he also knew the wise phrase - _let sleeping pollicles lie -_and that to wake Tugger would put him in a very foul mood.

So.

He carefully detangled the kitten's claws from his fur, and ever-so-slowly rolled him out of his arms -

Onto Tugger's tail. That's right - and Tugger didn't so much as twitch.

Tugger's tail was _gorgeous - _the thickest, fluffiest tail any cat ever saw. Deuteronomy knew he wouldn't wake from the kitten cuddling up to it - he would barely feel anything under so many layers of fluff, even if the kit were to chew on the ends. He smiled happily down at the two - amazed at how Tugger's large body dwarfed the kitten even more - chuckling silently at how Tugger's long fur enveloped the kitten in one breath, and the kitten only sank down further into his blissfully warm bed. They were already good with each other… though they were _asleep_, he took this to be a good omen, and ignored his conscience warning him for being overly optimistic.

Deuteronomy hunkered down someway further off, eyes drooping on a sweet sight - as his eyelids sleepily shut, he caught a glimpse of Tugger's tail winding around the kitten as it let out a wide yawn.

* * *

"Father,"

The suddenness of the morning always took him by surprise, but he woke slowly nonetheless, clinging onto the last vestiges of a wonderful dream about cream and fish, Deuteronomy reluctantly peeled open one eyelid and immediately saw Tugger.

A rather perplexed Tugger, with one hip cocked to the side, arms crossed - his tail twitching in annoyance.

His eyes caught movement at Tugger's heels - the kitten from the night before! Oh, the little one was having a wonderful time batting at the fabulously fluffy tail swinging two and fro. He scrabbled onto his back with all his paws in the air, letting out a giggle as Tugger's tail tickled his belly.

"Father - _who is this?_" Tugger jerked involuntarily as the kitten managed to wrestle the tip of his tail to the floor and was proceeding to lick it with great enthusiasm - or _slobber _over it, rather.

"A little friend, my son, a little wanderer…" Deuteronomy rose gracefully, stretching with a great yawn. He grinned down at the kitten, and then at his son's unreadable expression. "…I found him in a dark little alleyway when the storm was coming in. I couldn't very well leave him alone there now, could I?"

"Oh really, you _couldn't_?" Tugger snapped as the kitten started chasing something in the air - dust motes possibly, or a fly. "And you decided to bring him _here?"_Despite deliberately putting on the front that he was _not pleased _with this invasion at all, Deuteronomy noticed his son was keeping a watchful eye on the kitten, and his mouth was not set in anger. That was the wonderful thing about kittens - no matter how bad a mood you might find yourself in, they were very efficient at distracting you from it.

As Deuteronomy continued to observe Tugger observing his new '_little friend', _it was obvious the exact moment when he realised how rude he'd been - and to his own father too! He shot an apologetic look at him which was met with a gracious smile, and little by little he saw Tugger begin to loosen up as the kitten worked his magic in gunning down his negativity, and the old Tugger charm ooze out and draw the two together in play.

Deuteronomy was delighted by how quickly Tugger changed from being moody to agreeable and watched as his son sat down and let the kitten climb all over him with little more than a roll of his eyes. It dawned on him that - as he had woken rather late when Tugger and the kitten were awake, perhaps they had gotten to know each other while he had been sleeping. And with closer inspection, he saw that the kitten's fur was pretty immaculate instead of being matted with mud - knowing how well Tugger maintained his own coat, he assumed he was probably just as good at giving baths - Deuteronomy beamed.

"Well I see you're getting along swimmingly," he remarked with a proud gleam in his eyes.

Tugger instinctively swelled at the praise - but then, _then _- he eyed Deuteronomy's eyes flitting between himself and the kitten a few too many times -

He saw where this was going -

"Oh no," he stepped forwards, his tail dragging behind him under the weight of its gleeful passenger, "No - absolutely _not_," he jabbed his paw right up at his father's nose, "He is _not _going to be my responsibility!"

"Oh but Tug, you're doing so well with him - he seems to be quite fond of you already,"

And timed perfectly to support his statement - the kitten sidled up to them and wriggled itself under Tugger's mane, settling there with a contented purr, as though the place was his to claim.

For propriety's sake, Tugger bristled at the contact and intended to shove the tiny tom off his person… but for reasons unknown, he couldn't. Well, he _knew _what the reason was - no matter how much he wanted to deny it, he was flattered by the kitten's instinctive trust in him. It was different to being fawned over because he was being sought for comfort and security rather than to be flirted with, and he was surprised that he _liked _knowing this. Tugger found his anger seeping away, quickly forgotten as he realised with a sinking feeling that - sure as the kitten was succeeding in burrowing under his mane rather insistently - he had already managed to wriggle his way under his skin.

"Does he by chance have a name?"

He snorted, "As if I could know - he can't even talk yet! All he does is squeak and purr,"

"Give him some time, Tugger. He looks like he's only just opened his eyes - to think his mother abandoned him so young and helpless. It's perfectly understandable that he would not know how to speak yet,"

Tugger's eyes narrowed. In his heart he knew he was fighting a losing battle. Deuteronomy was lesser known for being the sneaky cat he was - he was choosing his words carefully to make him sympathise with the kitten, and the problem in that was - it was _working. _It was awful to think of the poor kitten's situation, and it _did_make him want to help him somehow - but _raising _him? Really? Tugger was barely out of his own kithood - and he knew any other cat would be better suited to the task than him.

"I'm still waiting, Tugger,"

"Hmm?" he jerked to attention, wondering when he had gotten lost on this train of thought, and what he had missed in that time. Had he been asked something? His blank expression made Deuteronomy laugh.

"I asked you - does he have a name?" he repeated in a meaningful way.

"What do you mea- oh," Tugger blinked, "_Oh,"_

He wanted _Tugger_ to name the kitten. Dear holy Everlasting Cat - how was he supposed to do that?!

He could not refuse this task either, for it was a great honour to name a cat - particularly since this would be the kitten's first name - it would be the one he would use till he came of the right age to choose his next, and hopefully it would still then be maintained in everyday use if he liked it - so it had to be _good. _Tugger had never taken the time to consider names and naming, and as what tends to happen when one is put under pressure - his head was as empty as a drum.

"Uh…"

He craned his head to look around the space in the den for _some _inspiration, but it was all just litter - cardboard boxes, ripped tyres, plastic and metal - the labelled containers had faded, scratched pictures on them. None of it was any good, not unless he wanted to name the kitten after fabric softener or… or candy wrappers. Tugger eventually dropped his gaze to the kitten himself - without meaning to he was already causing him trouble by making him have to think so hard. The little blighter was chewing on his fur, bright black eyes sparkling up at him, full of mischief and… and Tugger was tempted to call him Sparky just for that, but the name didn't sound right to him. No, he looked much more like a -

"Quaxo," he finally said, immediately liking how it sounded rolling off his tongue. "Quaxo," he repeated once more, just to make sure it sounded right.

"Good name," Deuteronomy praised, "It suits him, I think,"

Tugger nodded, pleased with himself - and eager to see what the kitten thought of it too - "Quaxo," he called softly - he wondered if he said it enough times the kitten might learn how to say it too. But after several minutes of no success, Tugger had to convince himself the kitten's uninterested sniff was acceptance if nothing else.

Before Deuteronomy could make a quick and stealthy escape - planning to leave the two of them to continue to bond - he was intercepted by Tugger who blocked the den entrance with his newer, larger body. Quaxo dangled from his mane, clinging to it as he swayed to Tugger's movements.

"And where do you think you're going?" he demanded, eyes flicking down at his passenger, "Leaving me with _this_,"

Deuteronomy frowned, "Tugger…"

But he shook his mane vigorously, managing to dislodge Quaxo who tumbled harmlessly onto the ground between them, "I've endured him for long enough. Leave me alone. Take him with you-"

"_Tugger_,"

The Maine Coon shrank at his reprimanding tone, suddenly feeling like a naughty kit and remembering his place too late once again - he couldn't bring himself to meet his father's eyes. He knew his words were harsh and selfish, but he had problems enough of his own.

"You will _never _speak of kittens in such a way again! He is not _dispensable_, nor is he to be _endured,_" Deuteronomy shook his head, "I expected more from you,"

Tugger scoffed loudly, "Don't try to guilt me into this. I've made my decision,"

"Give me one reason why you can't-"

Perfectly timed once again - Quaxo took this moment to let out a long mew and roll towards Tugger, leaving behind him _a strip of sparkles on the ground. _Tugger could tell without looking that his father's jaw had dropped open, but he already knew of Quaxo's _special_ _abilities. _He met Deuteronomy's shocked expression with a sheepish shrug.

He scrubbed at the floor and grumbled when the sparkles were transferred to his paw.

"Well, there's _this_," he halted Quaxo's rolling around with one paw, "For a 'reason' why I cannot. When I was giving this rascal a bath, he did this same thing - only on my _tongue_! It _tingles,"_ Tugger pushed Quaxo over to Deuteronomy, "I can't deal with this, father. It's too much," _It's too soon_, he wanted to say.

"Well I never!" Deuteronomy exclaimed, bending down to scoop Quaxo into his arms. He gasped as there was a tingling sensation where they were touching. "I had my suspicions, but this… this is _magic_," he glanced at Tugger as he flinched at the word. "Tugger…"

"Don't,"

"Do you have any idea what this means? Things can finally be put right! Your brother-"

"_Don't," _the Maine Coon spun around, ready to retreat back into his den, when -

Quaxo squealed, squirming frantically in Deuteronomy's hold - he mewed and stretched his short limbs out, reaching towards _him. _Tugger froze, not knowing what to do. His plaintive mews pulled at his heartstrings, and that was the moment Tugger realised he had him totally wrapped around his tiny paw, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"He needs you, Tugger," Deuteronomy insisted, holding Quaxo out to him. Bringing them even closer made Quaxo's tail go into an excited frenzy and his eyes curve up as he smiled - already anticipating being received in Tugger's arms… "Plus, you know how to handle magic," he pressed on, "You've dealt with it before. The tribe will feel much safer with him in your hands,"

"Will they? After what happened…" Tugger continued to try reasoning with Deuteronomy, but it was half-hearted. He took Quaxo from him, smiling grimly as he was immediately chewed on and clawed at. The sparkles had started to fade, but the tingling remained.

"He likes being with you,"

"Yes, well… I'll take him to the queens. If it looks like they can't handle him… I will. But let's at least try,"

They headed out, dodging the massive lake-like puddles that had spread everywhere, and noting how empty the junkyard was with the unwelcome abundance of water wisely discouraging most of them from venturing outside. Quaxo hung from Tugger's mouth like a pendulum and wildly batted the air like he was fighting it. It was very hard trying not to drop him when Tugger could feel himself wanting to smile.

Deuteronomy entered Jenny's den first, the squeals of the kits exploding from the entrance as soon as he was received. Tugger let him go in first, wanting to wait outside for a bit to let the excitement die down a bit. Just being near the noise reminded Tugger that he had been living in isolation for quite some time. It almost_frightening_ - the prospect of being surrounded by so many people, not knowing where he stood with them after having avoided the tribe for so long. He felt like an outcast - _inconceivably _an outsider. Not so long ago, he had enjoyed being among a crowd, and often enough - being the centre of its attention. But that all changed when he grew and the attention _changed_ and in the aftermath of such great _loss _he just couldn't handle being adored.

And avoiding his fellow cats became more of a way of dealing with himself than not wanting to be around them - he _missed _them - but after spending so much time away from it all, he just didn't know how to come back.

Tugger placed Quaxo in front of the den entrance and for a moment simply stared down at him as he looked around curiously. It was then that Tugger realised he might have made a mistake in bringing him here. It sounded like _all _the kittens were in there and making quite a fuss - and that wouldn't make a very good first impression on Quaxo. Tugger knew how rowdy a litter could get, especially with the arrival of an exciting new addition.

But then he heard the kittens quieting down and Deuteronomy's booming voice - and he sighed, thinking that he couldn't just _leave _now - not after being announced - the queens would be expecting them.

He sighed again, "Well little friend, I'm afraid there's no escaping this,"

Quaxo cocked his head, but before he could offer any consolation, someone burst out of the den.

Tugger reeled back as his brother leant right in his face. He swiped a paw around Quaxo, dragging him under his mane in a protective gesture he would never have thought he'd find so instinctive - but Munkustrap was towering over Quaxo, and the kit was already shaking violently that he felt the need to do so. Munkustrap's distaste was unmistakable as his eyes flitted from Tugger to the short black tail flicking madly under his chin. Tugger again surprised himself when - without meaning to - he started hissing at his brother and arching his back aggressively.

"So it's true," Munkustrap muttered, completely ignoring Tugger's snarling as he crept closer to inspect the new kitten. All that could be seen of Quaxo was his small, black wriggling behind and his hind paws scrabbling as he frantically tried to burrow under Tugger.

Tugger bristled at his tone, taking immediate offense at his brother's words. He knew his reputation was not one you would typically associate with good caretaking, but Munkustrap knew him better - he should, out of everyone, have _some _faith in him_ - _not shoot him down before he could prove himself capable. But then, to his bafflement, Munkustrap shot him an unexpected toothy grin.

"He likes you,"

Munkustrap's laugh rolled out of him as light as a breeze, yet it was a warming sound - and Tugger was getting tired of being made a fool for making assumptions. It always reminded him that they _were _actually blood-related whenever Munkustrap smiled because they shared their father's smile. It was practically the only similarity they had, and many a cat would tell them so. Quaxo's peeked up at Munkustrap, curious at the change in atmosphere between the two. Once he'd discerned that he was not in any danger (and that he could always make a retreat into Tugger's mane if need be), Quaxo bravely ventured out a little further and cocked his head again with a mew.

As the tension dissipated, Tugger watched Quaxo and Munkustrap interact - again, it struck a chord when he recalled how well-suited his brother was with his role of Protector. He lowered himself to the kitten's level for inspection and subconsciously moved his body to be a barrier against the direction of a barely-perceptible breeze. Quaxo quickly relaxed as he sensed Munkustrap was _good_ and delicately sniffed at him - probably noting that he and Tugger were related - and then bumped his tiny pink nose against Munkustrap's as it took no time at all for the _scary stranger _to become a _friend._

"Yes, well he's…" Tugger watched Quaxo dismiss Munkustrap's face and lunge at his tail instead, "…he is a little…_different_,"

Munkustrap's smile grew wider.

"Are you finally admitting that one has to be '_different' _to like you?" he remarked, causing Tugger to scowl. Munkustrap had always been good with younger kittens - he endured Quaxo's tail-swatting and him climbing all over him with the patience of a saint. Tugger hadn't ever had any interest in entertaining kittens younger than himself. He preferred to spend his time with older cats rather than kittens since his patience was not well-suited for their play. It was both a miracle and a mystery that he could tolerate Quaxo!

Just as Munkustrap managed to trap Quaxo between his paws and made to start bathing him, Tugger recalled what he had actually meant by _'different'. _He lashed his tail in warning.

When Munkustrap's attention was immediately caught, he lowered his voice as he spoke in hushed tones.

"I mean that he is _different_, Munk. Different in the way _we_ know it,"

Munkustrap's ears flicked back - and there was a definite change to the way he interacted with Quaxo that Tugger didn't like. He released the squirming kit and stood, tilting his head towards Tugger in a judgemental way, and though he wasn't outwardly shunning Quaxo, it was clear in the way that he was putting some distance between them.

Even Quaxo, young though he was, seemed to sense that he was less of a friend than before, and shuffled back over to Tugger for comfort.

"I suppose I can understand father's decisions now," Munkustrap muttered, "Seeing as he said you will be the one to deal with him from now on,"

"He _what_?" Tugger asked in disbelief, "I told him I would only take him if the queens couldn't!"

Munkustrap blinked slowly, "Well, they can't - if you'd been around more in past months you'd know how many kits we have running around the place. And we thought _your _litter was a big one…" he shook his head despairingly, "Everlasting… we're up to our whiskers in kittens!"

"Surely they can handle another - just _one _more!" Tugger protested, pointedly refusing to give Quaxo the attention he was seeking. He had his mane to chew on, what more could he possibly want?

"Take a look for yourself if you have to, Tug. I think you'll have to agree with the rest of us on this," Munkustrap beckoned him into the den, hesitating briefly after he watched Tugger slink into the den - he'd forgotten the kitten! The poor thing was curled up into a tight ball on the floor, not even mewling for attention - he looked like he was having a hard time self-soothing, and Munkustrap's heart softened at the sight of it. He plucked him up by his scruff and carried him inside.

Inside was utter _mayhem. _Munkustrap hadn't been kidding_. _Two large litters together made a den where you had to watch where you walked - they were literally _everywhere_. The two sister queens were trying to hold a conversation with Deuteronomy but kept having to pull off kittens that managed to climb up his mane. It was a pretty ridiculous sight - and as soon as Munkustrap stepped inside, it became more of a _frightening _one.

The kittens all squealed at the sight of their Protector - recognising him as one of their favourite playmates, they all flocked around him in a mad flurry of excitement.

Tugger was sticking to the sidelines, uncomfortable in the presence of so many small creatures he could step on and _squash to death _so easily. He tried to stay out of the way - but when he saw Munkustrap bombarded with attention, something like jealousy prickled at him. He recalled what it felt like to be on the receiving end of such warm adoration - how it made you feel so beloved and powerful.

But then he saw something that made his heart drop.

In the midst of all the kittens, Munkustrap was overwhelmed and - one kitten leapt up onto his back, another on his tail - and with a yowl, he _dropped Quaxo into the fray._

The instant he lost Quaxo under the pile of kittens, Tugger leapt over there in such a hurry that he completely forgot wanting to remain unseen in his haste.

He nudged the kittens away with his nose and scattered them with his tail, and found Quaxo soon enough - curled up in a ball, shaking and crying -

It was immediately apparent to Tugger that Quaxo was far too small compared to the other kits.

Even when he wasn't curled up, he was much smaller, and even though he hadn't learnt how to speak yet, he still couldn't make nearly as much noise as the others did. He was black and white - a cat with no distinctive colouring, who didn't have a loud voice to speak up for himself and was so _small…_

How would he ever get any of the attention he needed when the odds were stacked against him like this? Would it be fair of him to leave Quaxo with the already overworked queens, knowing that he would probably - not be _neglected, _per se - but never be the _first _to receive anything?

"You were right, Munk," he threw over his shoulder, "I'll take him," and with that, he picked up his new charge by the scruff and fled.

He didn't stop to say goodbye and ran till he was safe back in his den. Only when he made it there did he realise what he'd done. It was official now - he was... he peered down at Quaxo with rising apprehension… he was _his _now. All-too-suddenly the responsibilities of raising a kit became a crushing weight, and Tugger thought that maybe if he was fast enough he could slip back and amend this terrible mistake -

Yet, as quickly as this idea was thought up, it was dashed. Tugger hated how contrary his mind was - how his decisions were constantly in battle and how this impaired his thinking. Part of him was horrified at the thought of being shackled to this much responsibility when he knew he was in no way ready for it - but in opposition to this thought was his conscience, which told him the decision had been already made this morning when, for the first time in months he hadn't woken up _lonely_.

This tiny interloper - he'd first thought was a _rat - _had been stuck to his tail with mud, a mouthful of fur in its mouth and its large, dark eyes there as he blinked awake. Tugger's first instinct had been completely involuntary - his tail whipped out, sending Quaxo spinning across the floor. He couldn't forget the sight of him stumbling head over paws in his attempt to stop the skidding, and how this had looked - funnily enough - like he was dancing. His apology had been to clean Quaxo, which resulted in a numb tongue full of sparkles and him somehow obtaining Quaxo's trust and friendship through it all.

"I wish you'd stop doing this,"

Spinning around, he saw Munkustrap crawling into the narrow entrance of his home, his tail swishing from side to side in obvious agitation as he swatted Tugger on the rump.

"It's bad manners to run out on company. Now father has to apologise on your behalf, _and _the kittens wouldn't stop asking me who the little fellow you kitnapped was,"

Tugger wrinkled his nose in contempt. Those kittens were far too nosy for their own good!

"I got bitten by Etcetera for - and I quote - '_making Tugs go away'. _The kits miss you, and they're taking it out on _me - _they think, for whatever reason, that it's _my _fault that you've stopped visiting them. _Everyone _keeps asking me questions about you, but I don't know _what _to tell them._ For goodness' sake, Tug - _what's the matter with you?" Munkustrap hissed through his teeth, hackles raised and all. "You are not alone in this suffering, and yet you must make the worst of it! For once in your life, stop being so damn selfish!_" _Tugger gently pushed Quaxo out of the line of fire and shooed him further into the den.

He shot a look of disdain at his brother, "What's wrong with _me?_ What's wrong with _you?_ You don't speak like that in front of a kit!"

"Oh look at _you_ - suddenly an expert on raising kits!" Munkustrap sneered, turning to the side as he began his typical angry prowl, "I take back what I said before - I have _no idea _what father was thinking when he thought you were the right choice for looking after a kit when you can barely look after yourself! Look at you, Tug - you're a mess! When will you get it through your skull that the world does not revolve around _you? _Get your act together and_ stop feeling sorry for yourse-"_

All through this, Tugger found himself shrinking in on himself as each verbal jab struck him harder than the last. He knew he was quite a bit bigger than Munkustrap now, but in moments like these he felt as small as a mouse, and as helpless as one to Munkustrap's accusations. He knew every word out of his mouth was true because it _hurt_, and Tugger had learnt that the truth will always hurt. He lowered his head to wait for him to finish, knowing it was best to do so, otherwise Munkustrap would just keep going.

But then there was a flash of bright white light - both of them yowled as the smell of - of smoke and lightning disintegrating into the air - there was no heat, but a blast of air and then _sparkles_.

Tugger found Quaxo right in front of him, standing between himself and Munkustrap like he was trying to shield him - his back arched and tail lashing fiercely. His whole body was taut as a bowstring and Tugger was dumbfounded by this, belatedly realising that Quaxo was acting on behalf of himself - he had a sudden urge to laugh, thinking how hilarious they must look - a tiny black kitten protecting a huge Maine Coon! He half expected Munkustrap would find this just as funny - but his brother didn't look at all amused. No, his eyes were… fearful.

_Magic_ - of course, he'd almost forgotten how Munkustrap hated magic. The fact that Quaxo was literally sparkling - that there was lightning crackling up and down his body - was nothing more than a threat to him. For a few moments, none of them moved. Both toms' eyes were fixed on the kitten who was growling at Munkustrap like a deranged pollicle.

They reached the point where they were literally at a stand-still, but then - just as Munkustrap decided enough was enough and started to back out - a crackle of lightning hit him right on the nose -

"Munk!" Tugger exclaimed, but luckily - Munkustrap was only a little dazed by it. It was then that Tugger realised this could get very out of hand if he didn't stop this now. Quaxo was too young to realise how dangerous his magic could be - but Tugger knew all-too-well how bad it could get. He slowly crouched down behind Quaxo and softened his voice, "Hey," he nudged him with his nose.

"Tugger," Munkustrap's voice was deceptively calm, though his stiff posture showed how afraid he really was.

"Working on it," he said out of the side of his mouth in an artificially cheerful voice. Quaxo's right ear was facing him - he probably had no idea what Tugger was saying, but he was being listened to nonetheless. Tugger thanked the Everlasting Cat for the length of his tail now, as he slowly brought it snaking forwards and wiggled it in Quaxo's line of sight. That was all that was needed to calm the kitten down - immediately he broke from his hissing and his tail twitched playfully at the distraction. He flopped down on his haunches and wiggled his bottom before springing into the air and pouncing on Tugger's tail. Bless the short attention span of kittens.

Tugger breathed a sigh of relief - crisis averted. But Munkustrap was still unmoving, still eyeing Quaxo as though he might explode at any second.

"It's fine now, Munk," he assured him, flicking Quaxo on the ear as '_punishment' _for his little episode. Munkustrap flinched as he did this - Tugger rolled his eyes, "Really. Nothing's gonna happen now, see? He's calmed down," Even though this was true, Quaxo was still trailing sparkles wherever he rolled, and his coat was shimmering too.

After a few minutes of watching him closely, Munkustrap let out a shuddering sigh.

"Sorry Tug," he said quietly, not wanting Quaxo to suddenly find him _interesting_ again, "All those things I said - I didn't mean them. It was father's idea,"

Tugger frowned in confusion, "Father's idea…" he blinked, "…you mean," he glanced down at Quaxo, "This was-"

"A test - yes. Father sent me after you to make sure you weren't going to dump the kitten on someone else, and he… he also told me to make you prove to me that if you were going to keep the kitten, you'd be able to handle him,"

"So provoking me - scaring Quaxo like _that _was supposed to prove something to you?"

"Yes. Trust me, I didn't like doing it either, but it has proven something," Munkustrap smiled, "Tugger - one of the first things you warned me about _Quaxo_ was that he had magic. You _know _it's not something many of us approve of in the tribe. We all fear it, we _barely_ understand it - he will have to be closely watched if he is to stay here, and in the hands of someone who can handle him when things get out of hand,"

"So the only reason I get to keep him is because I can stop him when he gets too sparkly?"

"He's_ dangerous_ - I refuse to allow him near the other kittens until he can control the magic inside him. But above all - the reason why the best person for him is you is because…" Munkustrap's voice gentled, "…because like I said before - he likes you. He's not going to hurt you - he listens to you, and I think father's right… he said that this could be good for you,"

Munkustrap shook some of the remaining sparkles off, vaguely disturbed when they bounced off his coat into nothingness. He gave his brother a small nod.

"I'm going to go save father from the others now. Be sure to take the kitten out for some sunshine every now and again, Tug. I know you've adjusted to hiding away these past months but for his benefit - let him get some sunlight, alright? Don't be a Griz,"

"Alright, alright - I've got it already," he grumbled, despairing at how much more his life was going to change - and all for a kitten. All for Quaxo… who was leaving a line of drool and chewed up fur along the length of his tail. Really - Tugger was amazed that he didn't feel at all disgusted or angry by this - only a little confused by Quaxo's obsession with his tail of all things. "Don't tell the Rum Tum Tugger what to do,"

If he'd looked up right then, he'd have seen Munkustrap grinning like no other - backing out of the den slowly so as to not disturb them - "I won't," he said softly, letting the curtain (that served as a door) drop behind him. "It's good to see _the _Rum Tum Tugger is back,"

"I never thought I'd hear _you_ say that, of all cats,"

Munkustrap turned to see Demeter appearing from under a rusted pipe. Her glassy green eyes were trained on his lips, which he found quite distracting - but then she mirrored his smile, which he hadn't realised he was still sporting. If it looked that ridiculous on her face, he could only guess how he looked.

"Should I be worried?" she purred, letting her tail brush against him in a tantalising motion that made his brain go all fuzzy.

"Worried?" he replied after a moment. Demeter laughed sweetly.

"About Tugger," she clarified, "I've heard from Jenny-"

"He's got a new roommate, yes - for once a rumour that's true," he watched her for reaction, knowing how Demeter felt about his younger brother - no doubt she was thinking of how badly Tugger was going to mess this up, and Munkustrap would have agreed with her predictions too… had he not seen a whole new side to Tugger just before - a side that was unexpectedly doting and patient. He blocked Demeter as she made to go save Tugger's new roommate, "Not yet, my love," he insisted, taking her by the arm as he lead them away, "Give him some time to prepare for your damage-control,"

She raised a brow, "The more time we give him, the more damage there will be,"

He laughed, "No doubt there will,"

* * *

**Chapter Extra:**

"Alright kit, we're gonna have to set some ground rules to this arrangement, alright? First thing's first…"

Tugger poked at the sparkly patch of floor.

"…no more sparkles. None. We are toms. Toms do not do glitter or sparkly things - those are _queenly _things,"

Quaxo purposefully sneezed out some glitter and blinked ever so slowly at him. He certainly didn't need words to tell Tugger exactly what he thought of his _rules_. Tugger tsked as Quaxo returned to kneading the ground in a circular motion as he made his bed.

"_Second _rule - you will listen to me when I tell you to _get off that now, that's _not _safe!"_

Quaxo chirped, totally unbothered by Tugger's horrified tone - he was curled up on top of a broken car baby-seat… which was hanging off the top of a massive heap of rubbish. He liked the view from the highest part of the den, where the remains of a car door window kept the heat from escaping whilst also giving him an excellent view of the sky above. It was daytime now so this lit up a nice patch of warm sun which was perfect for his nap… not that he was going to surrender to naptime _yet._

"Seriously, you know I can't climb up there with you, and if you fall…" Tugger's voice _was _very far away, which Quaxo didn't like - but he purred loudly to show he was okay, hearing him huff in exasperation. "…figures you'd be a daredevil _and _stubborn too. Just be careful, okay?" he could hear Tugger getting closer and peeked over the edge to see where he was.

Despite Tugger's massive size, he was still a cat and therefore still perfectly agile - he'd managed to get to the boot of the tilted car, with his paws clinging to the back seat. His head could just reach through the gap where the back seat had fallen through, and he propped it at an angle where he could see the white tip of Quaxo's tail.

"You like making my life difficult, don't you?" he panted, laughing at Quaxo's guilty mewl, "Well I'll pay you back in years to come, kit. Just you wait," he promised as he listened to Quaxo's movements - after a few minutes of hearing him shuffling around, he guessed that he was probably not going to sleep anytime soon. Everlasting… this kit was going to run him ragged! "…Still awake, kit?" he called uncertainly.

Quaxo purred loudly.

"Great,"

He wondered what was the best way to get a stubborn kitten to sleep, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep till the little one was sleeping soundly. A song? A story? Those were the methods used on him when he'd been little, but they'd only worked in keeping him awake as he wanted to know more about the characters in the story, or to join in the singing.

He sighed, mourning his carefree life before.

And then, he started to sing - thinking that Quaxo might as well learn about his fellow Jellicles if he wasn't going to sleep, and he would get some singing practice in as well since the Jellicle Ball was coming up soon. Skimble's song was easy enough to remember and he was probably the nicest cat to sing about, so he went about singing the song of the cheerful Railway Cat… right up to the second verse, by which time they had both fallen asleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**1) The junkyard boundary - I like to envision that there is a distinct change between when Jellicles are outside the junkyard living their normal cat lives (i.e. hanging around their human homes) and when they come back to the junkyard at night. There is a physical change - they go from walking on all-fours to walking on their hind-paws. Their mind sharpens, their behaviour too.  
It's like - when they come to the junkyard, they shed their disguises and become their Jellicle selves.**

**2) If Tugger seems OOC to you, that will be explained in chapters to come. He's still Tug, don't worry :) And if Munk seems bitchy to you, that is also linked to Tug's problem.**

**3) A "litter" refers to a generation (in this story), not a bunch of kittens birthed at the same time.**

**Next installment: Tugger's excellent parenting**

_**...to be continued...**_


	2. Chapter 2

Within the first week, Tugger found himself hacking up more fur balls than he'd ever done in his life, some with sparkles… _most _with sparkles, in fact. Compared to the stories he'd heard about kitten-raising though, Quaxo wasn't nearly as bad - he didn't misbehave (_that _much), he listened to Tugger (most of the time), and he was extraordinarily good at staying clean… the main problem he had was with putting him to sleep. He didn't know if it was the magic in him keeping him full of energy, but Quaxo was _impossible _at naptime. That was the main reason for the excessive bathing - the only thing that could calm Quaxo down was a long, _long_bath.

Nevertheless, kitten-raising was not as fearful a task as he had expected, and Quaxo's presence was a surprisingly welcome distraction from the darker edges of his mind_. _Tugger found Quaxo's boundless energy endlessly entertaining - it _was_ exhausting, but worth it for the moments when Quaxo tripped and went tumbling tail over ears, or that time when he got stuck in an old tin can… Tugger hadn't laughed that hard for a long time.

However, there was one thing Tugger was finding difficult, and that was choosing the right time to introduce him to the tribe.

There was nothing holding him back - he heard Munkustrap calling him an 'old Griz' at the back of his head for hiding him away, and whilst this accusation didn't bother him too much - it was more the effect his seclusion might have on _Quaxo_ that worried him. Socialising was very important to a kit's development and he didn't want Quaxo to suffer for his choices.

When a week had passed and Quaxo was becoming quite sick of being cooped up inside, he took a deep breath and decided it was time. And so… they left the den.

It was chilly outside and whitewashed with blinding sunlight. Quaxo trotted behind him like, ever a faithful shadow - however, in his eagerness he tired himself out prematurely and leapt onto Tugger's tail and let himself be dragged along upon it.

Quaxo was a very odd little kitten.

Sometimes when he did things like this it made Tugger even more anxious thinking what the others' might think of him acting this way. _He_ was used to it by now, but that was after a full week of adjusting to Quaxo's strange view of the world. There were _so many _things to worry about with revealing Quaxo to the tribe - he didn't even want to think about how he was going to tell them about his _magic_. Nuh-uh, that was a no-go-zone for now.

It was daytime when most of the adult Jellicles were at their human homes, leaving behind only the junkyard kittens and a few retired older cats to mind them - it was therefore, (theoretically) the _perfect_ time to bring Quaxo out.

But it was quiet - far too quiet, and too early for the kits to be napping. Tugger scooped Quaxo up cautiously, his ears straining to hear anyone at all - but then, he relaxed when he heard a very familiar voice singing the tale of the Great Rumpus Cat - the ending reworded to be a little more appropriate for the kits, and sang on a merrier note by a much-too-cheerful voice for such a dramatic story. Tugger crept upon the gathering - again momentarily taken aback by _how many _kits there were this season - and gently set Quaxo down.

His arrival caught Skimble's eye just as the railway-cat finished singing and he watched him scan his audience for anyone still awake - apparently he was successful in lulling them unconscious, because he grinned victoriously at Tugger and tiptoed his way towards him.

"It's been too long since I last saw you, son!" he whispered, nuzzling his ear affectionately and regarding him with a fond look. Skimble was everyone's favourite uncle - much adored by the kittens for his playfulness and appreciated by the other cats for his willingness to kitten-sit whenever he came by. Tugger smiled back rather sheepishly, accepting a gentle bite to the nose as punishment. "Have you been busy, or were you just…" Skimble shifted on his paws awkwardly, "…you know, are you still…"

"Sulking?" Tugger sighed, "Yes, I was Skimble. I've been pretty down,"

"I actually meant to say '_adjusting'_," Skimble gestured to Tugger's grown-up body, "But yes - it's so unlike you to be so miserable, my darling boy," Skimble remarked softly, ruffling his head-fur, "You've had all of us so very worried,"

"Yes, well… that's over with now, I guess," Tugger shrugged with deliberate nonchalance, "I'm back - I _had_ to come back, for the sake of my _burden_,"

"Burden?" Skimble grabbed him and spun him around, patting his shoulders, as if to find a physical weight on them. He always had a tendency to take things too literally, so Tugger helpfully pointed Quaxo out to him… rolling his eyes when they found him sniffing the ground at their feet like it was catnip.

"Meet my burden, Skimble - Quaxo, you little weirdo, _come here…"_

Quaxo's head snapped up and he rolled over towards them - stopping on his back with all paws in the air and his white belly exposed, practically begging for a rub. Tugger did so, already knowing how fussy Quaxo would get if he didn't.

"Quaxo, you say?" the ginger tom bent down to sniff Quaxo curiously. They touched noses in greeting, and then Tugger forced Quaxo upright for a proper introduction.

"Quax, say hello to Skimbleshanks - you can call him Uncle Skimble, well, you _could. _If you could talk…" he teased. Quaxo could only make noises so far. He offered Skimble his most demure mewl which was met with a delighted chuckle and a hug. As he was lifted up, his eyes bugged out and he squealed in excitement, winding his arms around Skimble, he squeaked,

"_Skimboo! Skimboo!"_ at the top of his voice - his _first words._

Tugger's heart swelled with pride, and despite outwardly looking gobsmacked (jaw-dropped, bug-eyed) - it suddenly made sense to him that his first word _would _be Skimble's name, as he was the first cat he'd sung to Quaxo about, and it had become his favourite song. He was impressed by Quaxo's memory, and even more so by how quickly he'd warmed up to Skimble simply from knowing _of _him.

"Well hello there!" Skimble smiled, utterly charmed, "What a wonderful burden he is, Tugger! He's quite sweet, isn't he? What a clever tom! How old is he? How long have you had him - wait, _why _do you have him-"

"Whoa, Skimble, slow down a bit! I've only had him for a week,"

"You mean he's in _your_ care?"

Tugger grimaced and nodded, "Old D and Munk _insisted. _He likes me a lot you see, and with the queens overloaded by this…" he eyed the sleeping kits warily, like they were ticking bombs, "…army of drooling ankle-biters, I kindly accepted_,_"

"That's marvellous, Tugger!" Skimble exclaimed, scratching Quaxo under the chin, "You must be doing well to have him behave so nicely. I'm impressed!" Tugger preened under the praise, "But if you've been watching him for this whole week, have you had any time to yourself? I know all too well how raising a kit can take over your whole life - oh! I would be glad to mind him if ever you need a rest-"

"That's kind of you to offer…" though he _was_ glad to be given this offer (he'd been dreaming of getting some sleep for _days)_, Tugger couldn't help but feel a little panicky at the sight of Quaxo in Skimble's arms. He couldn't explain his sudden irrational thought that - that in the brief time that they had known each other, Quaxo now preferred Skimble over him, but he wanted him back in _his _arms so much that he itched for it. It was a completely irrational, and yet - the _jealousy _- the fear that Skimble was going to keep him -

- stirred up something inside him, like a stomach ache after eating some rotten fish.

Everlasting, how had Quaxo managed to get under his skin so fast?

"It's important to have good balance in life, you know," Skimble carried on, completely oblivious to Tugger's little emotional constipation. "I suppose you haven't spent a moment away from him, have you?" his tone was annoyingly _knowing, _as was the look he sent him. "Tugger,"

"Yes?" he answered tightly, unnerved by how unexpectedly perceptive he was being. Sometimes he forgot that Skimble spent a lot of time with Jenny and Jelly - their intuition might be rubbing off on him.

"Even though we've barely seen you for a while, I'm sure you've been managing to keep tabs on your human from time to time, but that was _without _your 'burden' to look after - so I'm guessing that you've probably forgotten about that what with the new addition, haven't you?"

Skimble clamped his paws over Quaxo's ears just in time.

"_Shit,"_

"You _know _how important it is that we take care of our humans. They get very distressed when we don't check in with them often enough, and when _that _happens their more likely to start looking for us-"

"- which increases the likelihood of the junkyard being found,"

They both spun around, startled by the appearance of Alonzo - the black and white tom, and Munkustrap's self-appointed second-in-command. He was very good at creeping up on cats despite his distinctive markings and liked to demonstrate this skill at every given opportunity, much to the chagrin of the whole tribe. He slid down the side of TSE1 and landed soundlessly, brushed himself off and promptly stuck Tugger with a pointed glare. Tugger honestly didn't know what he'd done to make his brother's two favourite cats _hate _him so much.

"You know that if they find us here they'll start messing with things. Humans always ruin _everything_," he spat acidly, wrinkling his nose for good measure. Since his humans up and left, Alonzo had become very bitter towards humans in general.

"But…" Tugger shot Quaxo a forlorn glance, receiving a despondent mew in response, "… my girl has grabby hands, and she _insists _on combing my fur till half of it's gone!"

"Do you see me caring, Tugger?" Alonzo sniped haughtily, only then noticing Quaxo. He approached the kitten slowly, his whole demeanour sweetening to appear more welcoming to him.

"Last time she tried to _ride _me!" Tugger squawked_._

"That's because like your ego, you're far. Too. _Big_," Alonzo sniffed dramatically, "Like a damn pollicle…"

"If I become bald… and _crippled_ it will be on your conscience, Lonz!"

"Oh poor, poor me - now stop being so vain and hop to it, Tug!" Alonzo hissed, swatting him on his ass, "She'll put you in a tutu too if you don't hurry!"

"Don't worry, I'll watch little Quaxo for you," Skimble promised him with a wink.

Tugger felt like he'd somehow been ganged up on, especially when he spotted Quaxo purring in Skimble's arms quite happily. He pouted at them and departed with great haste and even more reluctance.

* * *

When he finally returned (from far too much grooming - he felt like he had at least five pounds less fur!), he could honestly say he'd never missed home so much in his life. It wasn't that he _hated _his girl - she was a sweet kid - but she tired him out with all the chasing and grooming and _bloody tea parties_. He leapt over the boundary, crying out in elation as the tingling sensation of re-entering the junkyard hit him and he landed on his feet in a crouch. There was no one there to witness his un-Tugger-like neatly combed fur so he shook it off and groaned happily -

"Mm, oh my," someone purred from the side, "What's this I see?"

He whipped around, sighing in relief when he saw that it was only Bombalurina reclining on a broken lamp with a smirk painted on her lips. She grew more beautiful each day, more queen-like and sinfully _curvaceous. _She was drawing the attention of many toms already, but her attentions were more directed towards Tugger as of late - this was his reason for avoiding her in particular, since he still somehow couldn't fathom thinking of her in such a way, and yet he shuddered to think how she might react to his rejection (_a.k.a. violently)._

"The Rum Tum Tugger has _finally _decided to show his face again," she slid off the lamp and sauntered over to him, hips swaying like a dance. Her tail curled around his hips, "And his fantastic _ass _as well," she whipped said ass with another flick of her tail.

"Bomba!" Tugger exclaimed. He appreciated her good humour, though he could already tell that she was mightily pissed off at him underneath it all. He just didn't want to lead her on, but he missed spending time with her just as friends. They had always been good friends since their kittenhood - of the same litter - so it was pretty cruel of him to have cut her out of his life without any explanation at all. "…how've you been?"

"_Bored_, Tug. It's so boring here without you! _Where have you been?"_ she demanded, swiping him across the nose with her sharpened claws.

"_Ouch!_ Claws in! There's no need for _violence_, you despicable pom!"

"Answer me _now_, sweetheart, or I'll make a pom look like a canary in comparison!"

He shot her a startled look and hissed, "Let me _show _you what I've been up to instead!" he made sure to keep a distance between them cautiously as he led her back into the junkyard, gallantly enduring her withering glares.

"It'd better not be a queen, Tugger! I'll claw out her teeth if it is!"

"I wonder if I'd best keep you away from _him _then, if you're gonna act that way," he paused in mock-concern, a few yards away from where he'd left Skimble with Quaxo. Bombalurina just rolled her eyes in exasperation and marched onwards - and then she let out a startled gasp. He darted after her, "What? What is it?"

The kittens were all still sprawled out everywhere, nothing was amiss -

"It's _Bustopher_, you fool. Quieten down," she whispered.

"Show some respect," another cat hissed at them both.

It always struck him as rather odd that the tribe revered Bustopher Jones as much as they did - all that was really special about him was that he was still able to walk in spite of his tremendous girth. He ate a lot and visited infrequently - what reason was there to show him respect in that? Tugger supposed it was his mostly rebellious nature that refused to worship this fat-cat-in-a-suit, but just this once - now that he wanted to slip back into society unnoticed - he supposed that following the crowd would draw less attention.

So he entered the junkyard with his head held high - but not _too _high to be arrogant - his stride precise and stately, his tail carefully held upright. Bustopher was facing away from them, so he couldn't appreciate any of this anyway, but then he stopped -

When he heard a very small voice pipe up -

"- you're not my father?"

"Certainly not," Bustopher asserted, though his voice was uncharacteristically patient.

"But… but _look_ like me,"

Tugger's jaw dropped. Quaxo - that was _Quaxo's _voice! He could talk? How could he be talking like that already? Had he been pretending all this time that he couldn't? Tugger peered around Bustopher, amazed to see the fancy-pants-cat _squatting _to be at a better height to speak with his little Quaxo. The kitten was sniffing and pawing at him with his usual curiosity - but the real curiosity was that - that _Bustopher Jones _was _allowing_ it!

(Not to say that Bustopher was a particularly hostile cat - but he was _hardly_ the cat you went to for cuddles. Come to think of it - where _was _that cuddly-cat Skimble?)

"I… suppose we do share a passing resemblance, little one, but that does _not_ mean that we are related," Bustopher jerked back when Quaxo tried to lick his tail. "Please don't do that,"

"Sorry," Quaxo stopped trying to monopolize Bustopher's tail and sank back on his haunches, his head tilted ever so dejectedly - Tugger was about to cut in just then, but then Bustopher spoke.

"Though…"

Quaxo peeked up at him, his ears flicking back nervously.

"… I suppose I possibly _might _be related to you… in some other way…" he had to give Bustopher some credit for trying to appease little Quaxo, as he floundered for some way to forge a viable relation between them.

Quaxo's ears sprang up, "Like… like an _uncle _or something?"

"Yes, quite! An uncle!" Bustopher latched onto the idea immediately and daubed at his forehead for perspiration. He was very unpractised at dealing with kittens it seemed, and was under a great deal of stress to do it right - what with the audience his visit normally gathered watching.

"Uncle Bus!"

"Bustopher,"

"Bust… bust-o…"

"Alright then, Uncle _Bus_," he agreed, perspiring a little more as Quaxo stubborly continued to botch his name up. His eyes darted around the yard for some assistance, no doubt wanting to escape Quaxo's interrogation as quickly as possible. Tugger was rather pleased with the outcome of the conversation he'd heard, so he decided to help the fat-cat out - Bustopher had suffered enough for one day.

"Yo, Quax - you talking now?" he strode over and ruffled Quaxo's head-fur, letting him head-bump into his legs as he was greeted happily. His heart swelled a little at the enthusiasm his return was met with. "You didn't tell me you could talk, kit,"

Quaxo giggled, "No,"

"You never talked to _me _either," he pouted jokingly.

Quaxo's ears flew back again. "Sorry…"

"Hey, hey now!" Tugger grinned widely, "Don't use that word too often. You're being raised by the Rum Tum Tugger who _never _apologises for anything!" He could practically _feel _Bomba rolling her eyes at him, but only grinned wider knowing that.

"But if you sorry?"

"Then you try to fix what you've done before it gets bad - and if you _can't _then you… you say sorry," he finished rather lamely.

"Oh,"

Tugger quickly spun the conversation around, "Hey - what's this on your face?" Quaxo licked his lips though Tugger had to finish the job, and in doing so found his answer - "Hmm, rice pudding. Not bad,"

"Uncle Bus give me," Quaxo explained, his eyes curving up as he beamed, "_Mmmm," _he purred and let Tugger drag him in for a quick bath.

"Didn't know you were in the neighbourhood, _Bus_," Tugger muttered offhandedly between licks, loving how Quaxo's whole body melted boneless in his arms. "Have you come back for Jenny to… _you know_?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. It was only when Bustopher glanced pointedly at Quaxo that Tugger realised - now that Quaxo was talking… he'd have to _watch what he said._

He clamped his hands over Quaxo's delicate, _innocent _ears too late. _Damn it_.

"I was just _passing through_ the neighbourhood when Skimbleshanks asked that I mind this kitten," Bustopher replied, "I think he needed a bathroom break, but he's been gone for well over an hour, so… I think I shall take my leave now. Toodle-pip," he chirped and briskly saluted them farewell. Tugger rolled his eyes at that, even when Quaxo called out a sweet, "_Bye Uncle Bus,"_ and whispered to him, "_I like him," _he rolled his eyes at the whole bloody spectacle.

He almost forgot Bombalurina was there -

Until she came into view, eyes blazing with… with _what_, he wasn't quite sure...

He froze, tongue out mid-lick, and grinned at her whilst doing this. "Uh…"

Bomba's astounded expression folded as she leant down to coo at Quaxo, though her lashing tail told Tugger he had some explaining to do later on. The fact that she was holding out on the _chat _they were going to have did not comfort him, for it only meant they would have no witnesses to her abuse.

He hid his face in Quaxo's stomach and groaned.

So much trouble for a kitten…

_And yet_ - he felt Quaxo valiantly attempting to lick himself _and _Tugger clean at the same time and failing at both - _he was so worth it._

* * *

News that the new kitten was staying with the Rum Tum Tugger spread like wildfire and soon Tugger was struggling to fit all the visiting cats in his den. On top of this, he had to withstand Bomba's looks… though she _was_ helpful with keeping the others at bay. He only had to mention Quaxo looking a little tired from everything and she would spring into action. It was _brilliant. _She lured toms away with a 100% success-rate and drew the queens away for hunting or a chat with her effortless charisma…

It was the blasted _kittens _that were the biggest problem.

They came out of nowhere, they wouldn't _shut up_, they asked too many questions… the only consolation was that this litter of kittens didn't know that much about Tugger.

(Yet)

They were a litter down from him and had been born or adopted into the tribe during the time of his isolation, so all they knew was that he was 'the' Rum Tum Tugger, but not that he was known by everyone and regarded as a celebrity by most. He was glad they didn't swamp _him _with the attention people who knew him would.

He couldn't say the same for Quaxo.

The kit clammed up when the first lot of kittens tried to get him to play with them. It wasn't typical of kittens to be reluctant to play, but… well, Quaxo had always been _different, _and he barely knew these other kits, and… he was shy and under-socialised. He barely knew where to start with his peers pawing at him and Tugger far out of reach across the sea of kittens from him…

"How's it going?"

"Huh?"

Tugger was licked on the nose for his ignoring Bomba - he'd forgotten that you _never _ignore the Red Queen when she was talking. But Bomba's eyes weren't shooting holes through him - instead she was watching Quaxo with a rather pensive expression, her mouth curled in a small, curious little smile.

"With Quaxo,_"_ she nudged him, "Is it difficult, having to watch him all the time?"

"Well, no… not really, I don't - he…" Tugger frowned, turning to catch a glimpse of his charge - who was caught in a swarm of kittens. He couldn't help but smile at the panicked expression on his face. "He's really quiet, well-behaved - the most un-kitten-like kitten I've ever met. Doesn't really need much watching over,"

"But I heard you spent allweek looking after him. Like, _all_ week?" she wrinkled her nose, "Didn't you get bored?"

Tugger blinked slowly.

"No,"

"Huh," Bomba chewed on her lip, "That wasn't the answer I was expecting. Who'd have thought _the _Rum Tum Tugger could be tamed by a kitten,"

"I am not _tamed_, and…"

"…and…?"

"…and I think, perhaps… Quaxo might not be as much of a kitten as we think,"

"_Pardon?"_

"Look at him, Bomba," he pointed at where Quaxo was sitting, having somehow managed to escape the sea of kittens and seek refuge under a rag hanging from a tyre. Only his white-tipped tail gave his hiding place away, but apart from that he could hardly be seen. "Have you ever seen a kitten behave like that?"

She watched Quaxo's tail also slip under the rag so he was completely hidden.

"Honestly, I don't think I've never seen _any _cat or kitten act like... that,"

"He's far too _clever_ to be a kitten," Tugger continued, "Too smart - and also he can suddenly talk, _just like that_,"

"Maybe he's just really, _really _mature for his age. Or a genius,"

"Or maybe he's older than we think. He has the energy of a kit, but the way he thinks… he is just as smart as a full-grown tom,"

"But he's so _small,"_ Bomba frowned, "Only kittens can be _that _small,"

Tugger sighed, absently wondering when he might have to rescue Quaxo from their guests, _"_I think he will always be small, even when he's all grown up,"

"Well… being small _does _have its advantages,"

He watched Quaxo's hind-legs scrabbling desperately against his perch, trying to hold onto the narrow ledge. It was a lot like a scene from that film he watched with his girl once - where the lion was hanging onto the cliff edge. The only difference was that Quaxo was a squirming ball covered with blanket and his stampede was more like a swirling maelstrom of kitten excitement.

He barely could anticipate the moment when Quaxo lost his grip, but everything that happened next went in slow motion - the rag swallowed him up and he dropped like a rock into the sea of kittens that crawled over him - very much like the time in the queen's den.

Tugger leapt into action then - his pulse racing in fear. Why did Quaxo have to be so small? The kittens were too young to realise swarming could crush a kit to death!

"Off! Move out of the way! Shoo, rapscallions!" he hissed, clearing the floor with swipes of his tail.

But as he moved closer to where Quaxo had fallen, he started to hear the kittens squeaking more than squealing - the clamour changing from excitement to collective fear so suddenly that Tugger felt his stomach drop. Had Quaxo been hurt? His fear turned to anger, and he let out a fierce yowl that scattered the kittens, many of them hurried out of the den but Bomba blocked the way of the others before they could escape. There was no escaping the Red Queen. That was for sure.

The problem became very obvious to them once the floor was visible again.

The rag was crumpled on the floor - nothing beneath it. Tugger flipped it over anyhow, just to be sure. At first he couldn't understand what he was seeing. He kicked the rag to the side and pawed at the ground where Quaxo should have been.

"Tugger?" Bomba's voice was shrill and the kittens she was minding were whining in fear. "Tugger, did he-"

"I don't _know_, Bomba! Just give me a minute,"

He said he didn't know what happened - but he was lying.

He did - it had to be the magic - Quaxo had disappeared using his magic! A shiver of excitement, fear and something like wonder crept up Tugger's spine as he marvelled at the younger tom's amazing abilities. But at the same time he was afraid - this wasn't how he'd imagined himself revealing Quaxo's powers to the community. He wanted it to be better planned - _more _planned, he meant - because something like this - a spectacle like this would only evoke fear in everyone.

Fear that was _uncalled for_ - for Quaxo was not someone anyone should fear. He was a good kit, well-behaved and kind and loving, and… and Tugger couldn't _bear_the thought of the other cats shunning him for being different.

"Tugger, where is he?" Bomba's voice had dropped lower as she attempted to reassure the kits that everything was alright. He respected her for that, but also heard the accusation in her tone - that was the downside to her knowing him so well - she knew when he was hiding something.

"I really don't know, Bomba. He's… he's gone,"

"Gone where? Gone _how_?"

"Do any of you know? Did you see anything?" Tugger turned onto the kittens, who all shook their heads adamantly - but then one tilted his head in thought, and then nervously raised his paw. "Yes?"

The kitten had a brown patch on his left eye and… and purple lips? He was nudged by another kitten with the same brown patch but on his right eye - they had to be brothers.

"I saw something Mr The Tum Tu… Tugger sir," it seemed the purple-lipped kitten wasn't very good at remembering names, which didn't give Tugger much confidence in how reliable his account would be.

"Yes, go on," he prompted nonetheless.

"I saw the new kitten fall out of the _sky_ and he almost fell on top of _me_, sir. Almost squashed me flat!"

Tugger narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean by '_almost'_?"

But before the kitten could, another swarm of uninvited visitors burst into the den - this time the kittens were led by a very flustered Jennyanydots, who pinned Tugger with a stern look. Since kithood that _look_ had always worked on keeping him where she wanted him.

"Tugger!" she squawked indignantly, "What is this I hear about a _flying kitten?" _her eyes landed on the kitten he was interrogating and she rolled them despairingly, "Pouncival, I've _told _you to stop eating those blueberries! They make such a mess!"

Tugger whipped around, pinning Pouncival with his own _look_. "_Flying? _What do you mean you saw Quaxo _fly_?"

"Well, he never touched the ground, sir. That's why he flew,"

"And then the cloth thing opened up and he wasn't _there!"_ the other kitten added excitedly.

"_Ay caramba,_" Tugger moaned, rubbing his face exasperatedly. What a disaster explaining this to them was going to be - but before he could start thinking about _that_problem, he had to find Quaxo first. How on earth was he going to do that? There was nowhere to start!

"What aren't you telling us, Tug?" Bomba demanded, "Do you know what happened to Quaxo?"

"I do, or at least I _think _I do, but you're going to have to trust me to explain everything later. Right now we need to find him - he's probably quite afraid, wherever he is…"

"Do you have any idea where he might be?" Jenny asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sighed, shaking his head wearily.

"I don't know - my den is the only place he really knows,"

"Let's split up - we'll check the junkyard top to bottom for him, okay? No need to worry! We'll find him, Tug," Bomba nudged him and started dividing the kittens into searching groups.

Jenny squeezed his shoulder, "I'll go tell Munk, alright? He'll have the others looking too, and we'll find your kitten in no time, and then," she leaned closer to him, her forehead creased in worry, "If the explanation to how he's managed to disappear and _fly_ is what I think it is, I suggest you tell everyone about it sooner rather than later, son. It's better than hiding him away like he's something to be feared, for that will surely only make everything much worse in the long term,"

He was surprised by how accepting Jenny was being, since she was one of the ones who he knew hated magic the most. He nodded at her advice and cast a weary glance over the squads of kittens being sent out of the den in frightening precision by the Red Queen. She shot him an encouraging smile and hurried out with the last group, Jenny following behind her. Tugger was about to follow too, but he saw a little movement in the corner of his eye.

Obviously, he expected it to be Quaxo, and so he hurried over to it - but found that the kitten there was completely white and obviously a queen, not a tom. She was facing away from him, hunched over in the corner of a broken laundry basket. Tugger cleared his throat… he cleared it again, _louder_, but she didn't even turn around.

"Hello?" Tugger reached out and poked her gently on the shoulder.

She shrieked, jumping out of the box like her tail was on fire, and when she turned to face Tugger she was spitting and shaking like a leaf. He hushed her, but she wouldn't calm down - not until he smiled and crouched down slowly. Only then did her shaking stop, and she peeked up at him with trembling whiskers.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," Tugger cooed, carefully reaching out to pet her head-fur. "See? I'm just a big, fluffy tom. Sorry if I scared you, kit,"

She mewed up at him, much to his surprise - she didn't look as young as Quaxo, and yet she wasn't speaking? She mewed again - but even the noise she made was not a _normal _mew. It was raspy and more like a howl.

"O-kay," he grinned awkwardly, "Well you're a strange one too, aren't you?" she blinked blankly at him, "…yeah, so do you want to come with me? Want to help me find Quaxo? You know who he is, right? He's the little black and white tom who everyone's going crazy over,"

All of this he mimed - drawing Quaxo's fur markings on himself to show her what he meant, and cupping his hands to show how small Quaxo was. Her eyes lit up in understanding - as did Tugger's, as he began to realise why she might be behaving in this way - and she nodded enthusiastically, and then -

She dropped on all fours and pressed her nose to the floor.

Tugger blinked.

"Wow, you and him are gonna get on great together," he remarked, "You're both obsessed with the _floor_, for one. You're both weirding me out, for another…" But then he crouched down nonetheless to better see what she was up to. As soon as he got closer to the ground he saw what was what he exclaimed in delight, "You clever kit! I had no idea - _this _was what he was up to before…"

There were - of course - _sparkles _on the floor. Everlasting knew how or when or why Quaxo had put them there, but they were visible only at a certain angle, and… and they swept across the floor. The white queen pressed her nose to the ground and started off on the trail, Tugger following behind with a bemused expression, thinking that _definitely - _Quaxo was going to find a good friend in this queen.

The trail of sparkles led twice around the den and up the TSE1, over Skimble's favourite settee and down a very long pipe. Tugger's tracking skills were put to shame by the white kitten's nose - she expertly picked her way over the patchier areas where the sparkles forked and backtracked, and eventually Tugger could make a guess as to where Quaxo had wandered to.

There weren't many cats that lodged in the corner of junkyard they were heading in - not because it was particularly unpleasant - but perhaps because it bordered the edge of the Heaviside Layer which made the area a little more sacred than the average plot. However, there _were_ two cats that lived there - two cats whose movements were so synchronised that watching them always sent shivers up his spine. They lived and breathed as one and no one - not even Deuteronomy - knew when they arrived at the junkyard or where they came from.

Sure enough, Tugger spotted two long tails languidly flexing atop the great pile of broken automobiles. The twins were hunched over and he could hear their solemn voices - which meant they were speaking to someone else, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to speak aloud to communicate between themselves. Tugger just managed to catch the white queen by the scruff before she managed to scramble her way onto the first car, and placed her safely on the ground with a '_stay here'_gesture - it was far too dangerous a junk pile for a kitten to climb.

He _just_ managed it himself - Everlasting knows how the twins managed to get up there - when he reached the top he was huffing and puffing - and right at his eye-level with his Quaxo.

Tugger narrowed his eyes at him.

He hadn't even acknowledged his presence! Granted, he was facing the other way… but the Rum Tum Tugger did not accept this as an excuse!

"Wait for a moment-"

"-Tugger, we are still-"

"-speaking with young Quaxo,"

Tugger scowled at the dismissal, but took pleasure from the way Quaxo tensed and darted a wary glance at him. His ears were already pulled back anticipating the_huge _scolding he was about to get. Coricopat and Tantomile were crouched on either side of him, their dark, intense eyes boring into Quaxo - but he didn't flinch or shrink away from them like any other cat would. He didn't look at all alarmed by the unwavering attention of the two psychics, and their 'conversation' was more of a stare off than anything else -

Or were they… could it be that Quaxo was mentally speaking to them _too?_

He only spoke a few words every now and again, and the twins nodded at him as if they understood.

Well of course they did, but -

What on _earth _could they be talking about? It wasn't as if they had anything in common to discuss. He let them carry on for a few minutes until his patience ran out, but just as he opened his mouth to speak -

"It isn't his fault you know-"

"-magic is very difficult to control at such a young age-"

"-and at an age as young as his, and with so _much _power-"

"-it's a wonder he hasn't set fire to his whiskers -"

"-or disappeared to Russia-"

"-or spontaneously combusted yet,"

Tugger's head whipped back and forth between the two and then down at Quaxo, who was bashfully pawing at the box he was sat on. "I don't even know what the last one meant, but I'm assuming it's bad?"

Coricopat nodded gravely, "Fatal, actually," Neither twin had a shred of humour that Tugger had ever seen, which worried him since that meant it was likely all true.

"Right," Tugger said tightly, barely managing to hold back a shudder as Tantomile circled around him. Her eyes were knife sharp and yet… somehow mellow,"Well, thank you for taking care of Quax. I'll um… I owe you, I guess,"

Tantomile briefly tangled her tail with his and she froze.

Tugger also froze - he didn't know if he'd done something wrong, or…?

But Coricopat didn't follow his sister into the Sight. He was twisting his own long tail around Quaxo, and _then _he gasped as - apparently - another connection was made. He sprang away from Quaxo like he'd been given an electric shock, and then turned his moon-like eyes on Tugger.

"You must take him back immediately," he informed him, Tantomile herding Quaxo back into Tugger's orbit with the same sense of urgency heard in Coricopat's voice. Tugger halted Quaxo's tumbling body with one paw and frowned at the twins questioningly, "Take him to the tribe,"

"Make them accept him," Tantomile continued, nuzzling Quaxo's twitching ear, "Teach them to trust him,"

"They must - we _all _must believe that he is one of us," Coricopat insists.

"That's gonna be a little hard, you know, seeing as they _all _hate magic,"

"You will have to change their minds then. Make them see him for who he is first - make them like him," Tantomile surprised him with a smile, "I don't think that will be difficult at all,"

Tugger glanced down at Quaxo who was swatting at a tuft of Coricopat's tail. He tilted his head, taking in all the positive attributes an "adorable kitten" such as Quaxo had, and how they could best use them to their advantage. If he taught Quaxo on how to win the hearts of the tribe - added to how lucky Quaxo already was with his looks - they'd get the tribe to _love, _not like, him - no problem!

He nodded at the twins, a Tuggerish smirk stretching his lips.

* * *

"This could actually work,"

Tugger hated tribe gatherings.

The main problem was space - every single space around the cleared "podium" was jam-packed full with cats. The air was stifling hot and unpleasantly muggy with smells and damp breaths - the _noise _alone was enough to make him want to hightail out of there. Everyone took "tribe meetings" seriously, which fortunately and yet_un_fortunately meant _everyone _turned up.

He only felt a little bad for pushing Quaxo in front of him like a tiny shield, because whilst he didn't _look _bothered, but he could feel him trembling. The hundreds of eyes fixed on him - on them - were each like a blinding flashlight, dizzyingly and nauseatingly invasive.

There was a small commotion as one cat pushed himself to the front - of course, it was Munkustrap, come to see what all the fuss was about. Tugger's unofficially announced meeting had involved him sending a bunch of his admirers off to gather everyone. No doubt Munkustrap had been told _last_ - the messengers wouldn't want to incur the wrath of the Protector by interrupting his day with… with _Tugger. _When he made it to the front, first of all - he didn't look _wrathful, _only curious. And when his eyes landed on Quaxo, he actually smiled.

"What a surprise, brother," he murmured, shooting Tugger an unexpectedly impressed look. "You're actually _doing _your duty and being _responsible_,"

Tugger rolled his eyes and watched him step back into the crowd, and then he cleared his throat loudly…

And loudly _again_, and then he -

"_SHUT IT!"_

- twisted around to see Bomba storming through with a deafening bellow. She sauntered past the shocked cats and passed by him and Quaxo, letting her tail brush over them both protectively. The sudden quiet was deafening in itself, and Tugger cleared his throat once more, just so he could remember his own voice.

"Thanks for coming," he began, wondering when he'd _ever _found talking to an audience this difficult. He told himself he was just out of practice, but knew that it was really his guest who was making things different - he wanted to keep an eye on Quaxo to make sure he was okay and an eye on the crowd to make sure they wouldn't attack him at the mention of 'magic'. This was an unfortunately an impossible feat because Tugger couldn't squint.

"As many of you have heard, I have a kitten with me, and many of you know that I… I am looking after him. So I wanted to introduce him to you… Quaxo - step up, little buddy-"

Tugger moved to push Quaxo forwards, but then - his paw went through _nothing_ - and when he looked down, Quaxo wasn't there.

"- hey, where are you-?" he swivelled around, but the gasps coming from the audience alerted him to the fact that - Quaxo wasn't hiding behind him, or anywhere -

And his sudden disappearance was not of the normal kitten-tuck-and-roll-under-a-cardboard-box variety.

And when he lowered himself - snout-pressed-to-the-ground - he could see a trail of sparkles twinkling at him, and leading off somewhere.

That _little_ -

"Nice. Real nice," he grumbled under his breath, his complaint drowned out by the others as a terrible din started up again, the whispers of '_did you see that? He vanished!' _crescendoing to a deafening uproar of '_magic! He did __**magic**__!'/'he flew! I told you he flew!'_ Tugger flinched as the crowd descended on him with questions and outrage, and he felt marginally better knowing that Quaxo was far away from the stampede, where he would have surely been crushed to death - but at the same time he cursed the little tom. Cursed him for bringing about this panic - this cacophony of hysteria that _could _have been avoided.

Oh who was he kidding?

This was bound to happen, so happen it had.

* * *

"…well that was rude. And really - _really_ - was that necessary? No. All you had to do was stand there - _I _was going to do all the talking, but _no. _No, you thought '_Ol' Tug's got it too easy. I should leave him with an angry mob to deal with.'_ Congratulations pal, I've got more people talking about me than ever before - which I hadn't thought actually possible_… and_ I've lost the hearing in one - no, _both _ears. Are you even listening to me-? Oh wait, you're talking to me. Well…"

Tugger flounced over to a stained mattress and tucked a few springs back into the stuffing before laying over it. He was making a big show of ignoring Quaxo - they both knew it - and took extra time to sort out his ruffled head-fur and his bed before he finally acknowledged Quaxo's wriggling bottom… which was floating above his head.

"So you _can_ fly,"

Quaxo floated in a rough circle around Tugger, falling somewhere behind him but appearing in front of him immediately, a bright smile plastered on his face.

Tugger hated how Quaxo was so bloody _difficult _to stay mad at. He blamed it on how adorable he was. Wait till he grew out of that "cute" phase - then Tugger would make good on all the trouble he'd caused him!

Then he noticed they were not alone - the little white kitten bounded up onto the mattress with them, her warbling noises breaking through his temporary deafness with how shrill they were - clearly she was excited. Quaxo was also piping up his piece, though his noises were more coherent than hers -

"-she can smell my sparkles, Tug! I don't think she's normal though-"

"Whoa, whoa! _Rude_, Quax. We don't say that about other cats, _especially _not when they're present," Tugger glanced at the white kitten fleetingly, "She can't hear, Quaxo. She's not weird, she's just different, as are you and I," he said, feeling very accomplished with the moralistic lesson he'd just taught him.

Quaxo cocked is head to the side, "Oh… that makes sense,"

"Yeah, now, are we gonna talk about that little show before? You left me there for dead, Quax! Not cool!" Quaxo's ears dropped back, "And the magic? Haven't we talked about the magic before?"

Quaxo cocked his head the other way, "…no,"

"We haven't? Well-"

But then Quaxo playfully pounced the white kitten and rolled them around Tugger for a few seconds before stopping them so they were seated between Tugger's forelegs.

"I want to name her," he announced.

"She might already have a name,"

"Oh? What is it?"

"…uh, well-"

"She's called Victoria,"

Both of them whipped around to the den door, Victoria belatedly reacting to Munkustrap's presence when she realised their attention had shifted there. Tugger subconsciously curled his paws around the kits when he saw the murderous expression on his brother's face…and that he was sporting a few patches of wet fur, missing fur and generally because he was _scowling_.

The thing with Munkustrap was that he was neither a smiley person nor a frowny person - he wasn't generally that expressive with his face (unless he was story-telling… or kit-sitting), so when he did _either_, you knew he was feeling something pretty big. That told Tugger that - whilst he'd endured being harassed by the cats after Quaxo left, he'd probably left Munkustrap in a worse situation when he'd skilfully escaped the mob. And he was _not _happy about that.

Munkustrap jerked his head, successfully summoning Victoria from the toms - she trotted over to the Protector, respectfully nuzzled his flank, and wisely ran off somewhere safer. Munkustrap then turned his enraged eyes on the two.

"Do you have _any idea_ what you've done?"

Tugger cringed, "Munk-"

"Don't you '_Munk_' me - there is a - the whole tribe is in an uproar. Everyone's panicking - everyone's blaming and - _crying - _and-_"_

"Whoa bro, calm down!" Tugger leapt down to coax his brother back into _breathing_ and surveyed the damage with appropriate wincing and hissing at the snot and tears matting Munkustrap's fur. He circled him, breathing in and out exaggeratedly in a mock-attempt to level Munkustrap's own breathing. He found him with an even stormier expression than before and actually stepped back, as if to exit the danger-zone, "It's all good, I swear-"

"It's _not _good! In _no way _is it good - they all want an _explanation_, Tug. They won't rest till they have one," he twitched in agitation, "They won't shut up until they have one… am I shouting? I can't hear in this ear anymore,"

"Well I don't have an explanation - **I** don't _have _one, and I'm the one raising him! I have nothing to say other than - _yes, _Quax has magic, but he's _not _going to be like **him** - not _ever_,"

"Like who?"

Quaxo's soft voice startled them both, but they reacted very quickly, answering at the same time -

"_Nobody_,"

Tugger shared a look with Munkustrap before he sighed. "No one you need to hear about, Quax. I promise,"

"Tug," Munkustrap interjected softly, but backed down at his beseeching look, "Alright," he acquiesced, "Look, I think… I think it would be best for you to stay in here for the time being. Let me go check outside before you go out again, alright? Just in case. I don't want anyone getting hurt over this,"

"Are they mad?" Quaxo asked warily. Munkustrap forced a reassuring smile on his face.

"…a _little_-"

"Munk!"

"- but I think they're just… taking some time to get used to the idea of your… your…"

"Magic?" Quaxo sniffed, his eyes worryingly large and wet. Munkustrap flinched, nodding.

"Thanks Munk-"

"_Don't _thank me," he snapped, surprising them both when he bent to nuzzle Quaxo, "You keep an eye on him, champ. If he tells you he's in charge, you tell him I made you the boss,"

"Yes Munk,"

"Oi, don't side with him!" Tugger whined, nipping at Quaxo's ear which provoked a small tussle, and by the time they were done and he looked up, Munkustrap was gone. He levelled Quaxo with a mock-glare and jabbed him on the nose, "You are _not_ the boss of me," he warned him playfully.

Quaxo grinned, causing both of them to fall into laughter.

* * *

"So it's all… sorted?"

"For the time being,"

It was finally quiet… or quiet_er _than before, though Munkustrap's ears were still ringing from the noise. Thank the Everlasting Cat that Old Deuteronomy chose to wander in and fix everything - no doubt he was woken from the noise - Munkustrap was never more grateful for his father's excellent timing than then. Simply by his presence, Deuteronomy managed to tame the crowd and calm its hysteria, and then he went on to explain how Quaxo came to be within the tribe (without everyone's knowledge beforehand) and how he was _different_.

They all struggled to listen - even to _him _- when he spoke about magic like it wasn't to be feared. They couldn't think of it without imagining fire and the stink of burning flesh. To associate magic with a kitten - with innocence and _hope_, as Deuteronomy was begging them to, was too much to ask of a few cats, who had to turn away when they could hear no more of it. Munkustrap followed each one out of the gathering in silence and got them home - he didn't try to reason with them. He knew their loss was still too fresh for them to accept magic back in their lives unquestioningly. It had tricked them once before, a second time they would not be so forgiving.

He made a mental note of this - of which cats might not agree with Quaxo joining the tribe - and that he should warn Tugger about this.

The remaining tribe quietened down in collectively deep contemplation about the new kitten and his powers - whether they could accept him into their lives as easily as Tugger and their leader apparently had. If they couldn't trust the judgement of their leader and his son, where could they place such trust? It was in one way non-negotiable, in the other… undefined.

Munkustrap knew it would take time for each of them to allow Quaxo into their hearts, but he had no doubt that the kitten had the ability to wriggle his way under their skins - after all, he'd already wormed his way solidly into Tugger's heart. He'd also managed to melt his own hardened heart, and evidently Deuteronomy had enough faith in Quaxo's goodness to convince him that he was good as well.

It was unfortunately exactly _this _that worried Munkustrap - the fact that Quaxo was so easy to love. It reminded him, _very_ specifically, of another cat with the same magnetic charm - the very cat that taught the tribe to not trust magic - to _fear _it.

That cat had brought a world of pain to the people he'd once loved with his magic.

He hoped with all his hope that Quaxo could prove them different in their suspicions - he _wished _against all odds that he could change their minds about magic, because life without magic was just not the same as it used to be - it lacked the spark they'd all grown to love. Their world revolved around wonder and magic - after all, they worshipped the Jellicle Moon, did they not? They gathered together one night every year and danced for it, and sang for it…

Perhaps, in time, they would all learn that magic could be good.


End file.
